MEMS devices are becoming increasingly prevalent as new and additional applications are developed employing MEMS technology. In many applications, it is important that the manufacturing process for forming the MEMS structure is compatible with integrated circuit manufacturing processes, particularly CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor) manufacturing processes. This is particularly so as, in many applications, MEMS devices are formed simultaneously with formation of CMOS devices, or at least formed on the substrate as CMOS devices.
As CMOS technology develops, such as the push toward low k and extreme low k (ELK) dielectrics, new manufacturing processes must be developed to optimize the compatibility between the CMOS manufacturing steps and the commensurate MEMS manufacturing processes.